The present invention generally relates to a tamper evident dispensing closure and label system, and more particularly to a novel construction of the closure lid and label that provides visible evidence of prior opening of the product without entirely destroying the label.
Many tamper indicating closure and container assemblies of the prior art typically rely on destruction of a part of the assembly, to indicate prior opening. For example, some arrangements in the prior art utilize a tear band, such as a paper seal, around the rim of a jar or container. For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 3,088,830 to Graham, discloses a tamper resistant closure wherein a paper band is glued around the entire periphery of the neck of the container and the skirt of a twist-on threaded closure. A line of weakness is provided at the junction between the skirt and the container neck to facilitate breaking of the seal upon twisting of the closure cap during removal thereof. The resulting tear line in the paper band clearly evidences prior opening of the container. Other tamper indicating arrangements require separation of parts such as a tamper indicating ring attached to the skirt of a closure by a line of weakening or webs which break upon removal of the closure for the first time leaving the broken and separated ring to indicate tampering. Such arrangements require careful design and manufacture to insure that opening can be accomplished with a uniform and low opening force. For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,547 to Shankland, discloses a tamper indicating closure system wherein prior opening of the container is indicated by exposing projections formed integrally with the closure. The projections remain concealed in the originally closed condition, but are exposed upon rotation of the closure with respect to the container spout or opening. While there are many such systems currently available, there is still a continuing need for new and novel tamper indicating systems for dispensing containers.